Frank Lampard Staying at Manchester City Is Bad for New York City FC and MLS

When Major League Soccer's expansion franchise New York City FC signed English midfielder Frank Lampard as one of their designated players for the 2015 MLS season, it seemed like a great move for the club and MLS in general.

But because Lampard was signed in July and NYCFC was not scheduled to begin playing until the 2015 MLS season, Lampard was loaned out for the remainder of 2014 to Manchester City.

Initially, the move seemed to make perfect sense. NYCFC is owned by the same group that owns Manchester City and NYCFC would want Lampard to stay active over the next six months until the 2015 MLS season began.

However, now that Lampard's loan stint is nearing an end, there has been wide speculation (via The Mirror) that he will be staying with Manchester City after the New Year—a move that would be terrible for both NYCFC and MLS.

When Lampard was first signed by NYCFC, the old adage about MLS being a "retirement" league was trotted out again. Lampard, while a legend with Chelsea, was out of contract and, at 36 years of age, his top-flight club career seemed near its end.

However, one of the primary factors in Manchester City's desire to keep Lampard after the New Year has been his success this season with City. In 17 appearances this fall—almost exclusively in a substitute's role—Lampard has scored six goals.

But because Manchester City is owned by the same group that owns NYCFC, an extension of that loan could quickly alienate many potential NYCFC fans in America.

MLS fans—rightly or wrongly—are very sensitive about the stature of their league compared to European leagues. And an extension of Lampard's loan—likely to cause him to miss the beginning of the 2015 MLS season—will be seen as evidence that Manchester City is NYCFC's "parent club."

There's no arguing that Manchester City is the better club and anyone doing so would look like a fool. However, it is vitally important to NYCFC's long-term success that they do everything possible to avoid looking like a farm team for Manchester City.

For many reasons (the United States' historical lack of top-flight soccer, the fact that MLS is not played over the winter, immigration patterns, a lack of tribalism and MLS' initial lack of quality), American soccer fans generally have multiple club alliances. It is not uncommon for an American fan to have an allegiance to an MLS team, as well as a team in the EPL, La Liga, the Bundesliga and Serie A—all at the same time.

But if NYCFC becomes known as Manchester City's little brother, American fans who root for Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and other teams in England will become loath to support NYCFC.

And MLS should know better—because they've been here before.

In 2004, Chivas USA was formed. At the time, the club seemed like a great idea. Owned by the same group that owned Liga MX club Chivas Guadalajara, it seemed to make perfect sense to put a club with a Latin flavor in the heart of Los Angeles with its high concentration of Hispanic immigrants.

But as MLS found out, the Chivas brand actually harmed the club's ability to draw in fans, especially those of Mexican descent who had traditional ties to other Liga MX clubs—and Chivas Guadaljara rivals—like Toluca, America, Tigres and Cruz Azul.

However, it seems that NYCFC's owners seem to have a similar blind spot.

When the club released its inaugural jersey last month, it was nearly identical to Manchester City's.

To a large extent, this is a problem MLS has brought upon itself. MLS Commissioner Don Garber has admitted that he was the one who sought out Manchester City to form a second MLS franchise in New York. And, considering the fact that City paid $100 million for the rights, it initially seemed like a huge win for Garber and the league.

Now, however, the league, and Garber, could be stuck with a big problem. These public relations missteps, which include the possible Lampard loan extension, the jersey—and the fact that NYCFC's games will be played in a baseball stadium for the foreseeable future—have already become an embarrassment.

And while a Lampard loan extension may be good for Manchester City's title hopes, it's also likely to do lasting damage to NYCFC's relationship with American soccer fans.

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